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Thursday, January 28, 2010 |
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Are You a Composer or a Businessman: A decision that can make or break your career
By Aron Schoenfeld
Composers compose and businessmen do business. At least this is what you think when you come out of school with a degree in music and decide to go on the musician career path. The thought of doing business scares most composers away as it is very often foreign to them. Music is a gift of beauty, emotion, and artistry, while the business side can sometimes end up in a whirlwind of paperwork, legal issues and cutthroat negotiation. These are two seemingly contradictory worlds but yet, for every composer or musician, they are intertwined.
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Posted by admin at 07:26 AM
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010 |
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5 Reasons to Go Global
By M. Frascogna
What’s the point to gaining an international market? Seriously? The industry in the U.S. is unbelievably cutthroat as is, so it almost seems like wasted energy to promote your musical brand across the Atlantic. For international musicians, the same applies, why would you even pretend to chase American music stardom? The market is bursting with musicians lined up out the door willing to do more, take less, and literally do whatever it takes to make it. Now that the industry has experienced 5 facelifts in the last couple of years, it is important to think differently about the music market. More importantly musicians should think smart, and that means thinking globally NOT domestically. It is important to understand this complete shift in thinking, especially since the need for global expansion changes daily. Start with the basics: 5 Reasons to Go Global.
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Posted by admin at 07:29 AM
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010 |
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Break Through Audio Cd-dvd Manufacturing Recommendation
By Dave Tamkin
Chicago, IL / Boulder, CO
  
1993 was the first time I finished recording an album. It was my sophomore year of high school and our band was called Without a Clue. Back then you didn’t reproduce CDs, you made cassette tapes. That’s right, 500 cassette tapes. We received boxes of plastic cases, boxes of cassettes and a box of cardboard paper inlays in a matter of days. We had to fold and insert every last one of them. Break Through Audio was there for us back then and continue to provide us with quality service over the last 17 years… I’ve been using their services ever since. They have gone above and beyond with every transaction. Below is a little more information on them along with their contact info. I thought I’d share the love
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Posted by admin at 07:58 AM
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Monday, January 25, 2010 |
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Musician’s Guide to 3 Uncommon Gigs
By Jim Green THE WANDERING ENDORPHIN
Chicago, IL
Click to Listen
 
Trying to make a living as a solo acoustic guitarist with an unusual playing style, I’ve had some difficulty fitting in with some of the more popular types of venues. Coffeehouses are fine, but it doesn’t pay the rent. At the bigger clubs, I seem to spend more in promotion than what I get at the door (maybe I should read some articles on promotion). Local bars tend to pay well but since most of my material is original, doing the human jukebox thing really isn’t me. I certainly haven’t written these kinds of shows off. I still play them on occasion and even walk away with a little money in my pocket. Although over time, I’ve made a living focusing on three not so ordinary places to play. These are gigs that I enjoy, have built in audiences and ones where I can make a decent buck. Maybe one of them will work for you. In this article I’ll try and share some info and perspective on each one for you.
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Posted by admin at 08:27 AM
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Thursday, January 21, 2010 |
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The Case for Online-Only Promotion
By Brian Hazard
Huntington Beach, CA
Click to Listen
  
I promote to establish and nurture a genuine relationship with my fans. I measure my success by the number of subscribers to my mailing list. Notice I said mailing list, not Twitter followers or MySpace “friends.” I’m talking about the people who grant me permission through a double opt-in process to email them directly on a regular and consistent basis. Right now there are just over a thousand, but there are plenty more out there who might love my music if they heard it. So how do we reach those potential fans?
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Posted by admin at 11:20 AM
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010 |
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Early on, when I was a songwriter in a band that was seeking a record deal; we used to consider that publishers, record execs, and radio programmers were from the “other side.” They were our antagonists, the enemy, the people who stood between us and worldwide success!
Later, when I became a publisher and a record exec, I tried very hard not to fit the stereotypical model I’d previously worked so hard to battle against. Fact of the matter is, however, that from the other side of the table, I began to understand why publishers, radio guys, and label A & R people had the rules they did. It was simple—those rules, improved the odds of one’s success in the marketplace.
So, yesterday when I received a very earnest email in response to my last article (So you want to make it in the music business?), I had to smile. “We’re a local band and we’d love to be living the schedule working bands follow,” the guy tells me. And then he asks, “What can you tell us that will improve our odds of making it out of our home town?” Great question, wouldn’t you say?
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Posted by admin at 07:46 AM
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010 |
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Click to Listen
 
It’s never one thing that makes a career in the music business. Everyone has a different balance of skills used in making music their full time job. I grew up on KISS, Prince, Queen, my dad’s Motown records and my mom’s classical piano lessons. In my mind I was never put on earth to run a publishing company or indie label, I figured I would be breathing fire like Gene Simmons by now (and not just on Halloween). Still, at the end of the day I am extremely grateful I make a good living doing what I love, and I get to see this amazing country year round. If you are performing artist, don’t make the mistake of letting licensing consume your entire business plan. The music business is filled with people ready to take your money. I think any site where you have to pay to get licensed (including and maybe especially, SonicBids) MOVE ON. If you are a performing artist, music licensing is not a replacement for touring, merch, sponsorships etc, but if done right, it can be a huge source of revenue for artists that have sounds that support picture.
PATIENCE – GIVE TO GET
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Posted by admin at 07:21 AM
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Thursday, January 14, 2010 |
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Click to Listen
Last week I read a book which helped me bring all the pieces of my self together, and it’s not just the book, it was a sort of final completion of finding my real self, getting to grips with who I am and how I can finally get more control over my existence and my music..
Maybe I’ll explain…
I do believe we develop in our lives, and it’s inevitable. A life is a test giving us a chance to evolve by making us face difficulties of life. It is down to us whether we take the fight and move forward or lose and stand where we started…
I have long been searching for a way to overcome my pain of inability to find inner peace in life. Also lately, I have successfully overcome my long-life apathy that had often made it impossible for me to practice, make music, sometimes felt hard to get up from bed at all…
I also learned orthodox medicine does not often lead to health because it is concentrated on curing the symptoms of disease instead of the real causes. All our bodies deteriorate within time. Taking medicine to cure one thing breaks down another, for which there is another cure produced, which again leads to further side-effects, which can be cured by another medicine which… and so on and so forth. I learned the best way to keep healthy for me is to work on my inner harmony and inner peace, which does not mean that you should not be full of energy. Actually both should combine – piece inside, energy outside. It is also connected with something I believe many Eastern-Europeans still need to learn – control over our emotions and thinking habits…
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Posted by admin at 08:53 AM
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010 |
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Indie Guide: 10 Essential Tools to Penetrate a Global Market in 2010
By M. Frascogna
Before fully ringing in 2010, let’s reflect on the lessons learned in 2009. With out a doubt ‘09 represented the year of the foreigner. Mainstream acceptance for international musicians peeked in the U.S, which trickled down into global market acceptance. Highlighting this point, in the 2009 Grammy Awards all five nominees for record of the year were associated with foreign countries. So indie musicians, labels, and music professionals, reset the radar as 2010 is the year for global expansion. The obvious question – how? This particular article is geared as a guide for indie level groups, however the advice cuts across all levels. It’s insight into aspects that are either taken for granted or not fully identified. So without delay, the 10 essential tools to penetrating a global market in 2010. Follow them from top to bottom and start implementing them immediately.
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Posted by admin at 08:20 AM
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010 |
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HOW DO YOU GET YOUR MUSIC INTO FILM AND TV?
By Gooding Kingdom
Click to Listen
 
Welcome brave souls.
I am an independent musician who has proudly played over 600 shows in 60 cities. I have done countless radio and tv interviews and built my own indie label, publishing and licensing company brick by brick. I have placed over 100 songs in films and television programs including The Matrix: Revisited and Animatrix, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, DVD’s of Nip/Tuck, The Closer, Ice Age 2, We Are Marshall and recently helped with the sonic re-branding of CNN, CNN international and PBS through Expansion Team NYC. I have accomplished this without corporate or major label support through a decade of borrowing, begging and stealing (i.e. writing, recording, saying yes to every live show I can play, making calls, asking questions, and generally showing up and soaking up everything I can). I also accomplished some of this long before moving to LA from Kansas. With major label funding becoming a thing of the past, more and more artists are asking how I landed placements in film and TV. Here are some of the things I have done over the years; I hope they save you some time and money.
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Posted by admin at 08:31 AM
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Mar 11, 2010
